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Jose Mourinho felt United still had work to do when it came to identifying and signing players who developed into stars.

A reporter put Cesar Azpilicueta and Philippe Coutinho to the Portuguese as examples of young players Chelsea and Liverpool took to new levels without spending big. Why were United not finding more of these talents despite having one of the largest scouting networks in the world?

“It takes time," Mourinho said in one of his final press conferences at Carrington. "I think it takes time to organise the club in that direction and it also takes time for the development of the players."

Behind the scenes, it was something that frustrated Mourinho despite the huge sums he spent at United. The 56-year-old would occasionally suggest names who did not fit the club's profile but believed he was offered few viable alternatives.

When Mourinho congratulated the West Ham scout who discovered Issa Diop, following United's 3-1 defeat to the Hammers, the allusion was clear. Why had this 'monster' not been on United's radar?

United's scouting operation in Europe, Asia and South America may have trebled in size under Ed Woodward but it takes time for the results of that to bear fruit. Particularly when a number of the club's long-serving talent spotters have moved on or retired in recent years.

Making the most of those enviable resources will be at the top of United's new head of football's in-tray but the club have already started planning for the summer and have dispatched scouts to monitor targets across Europe.

All the while, the average age of United's squad is coming down and currently stands at 26 with the spine of David de Gea, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard all having their best years ahead.

Wholesale changes are not on the cards, whoever the manager is in the summer, and United will only be looking at two or three positions: centre-back, cover at full-back and a central midfielder.

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Although United will hope to unearth a gem or two, the club have always maintained there is £100m available to sign one player but that target has not become available yet. PSG and Barcelona remain the only clubs in world football to spend nine-figure sums on just one player.

United have never been in a better position to spend such a huge amount, though, after reducing their summer spend last year and after keeping their powder dry in January.

United's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are still higher than any other club in world football and, according to Deloitte, their annual revenue increased to £590m last season.

And while United will certainly act if a Kalidou Koulibaly becomes available, they hope to finally establish a coherent transfer strategy that is not reliant on 'crazy numbers' or being opportunistic.